Can Barack Get a Loan?

Absurdity. Predictable, but still absurd:

A would-be auto buyer described a "revolving-door nightmare" after a sales agent spotted a similar name on a federal most-wanted list. A former California prison employee wrote of being mistaken for a Colombian drug criminal. A Northern Californian sued after his home loan was held up when a credit agency thought he was Saddam Hussein's son.

Their stories - with much information blacked out, and other records withheld - are among documents obtained by a San Francisco legal organization seeking greater public accountability in the operation of a Treasury Department watch list of terrorist suspects and drug traffickers.

Makes you feel comfortable about the government's ability to protect us all...Doesn't it?

The Crusade against the Jihad

I can't remember the exact date that Muslim terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001 - who can? - but I know it was some time in September. Maybe it happened on 9/10 or 9/12 because today's Washington Post has two great op-eds on the state of the war on terror. Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, the former chairman and vice chairman of the - oh I guess it happened on 9/11 - 9/11 commission, write about how far away Congress and the President are from implementing the kind of policies that would prevent another terrorist attack.

Progress at home -- in our ability to detect, prevent and respond to terrorist attacks -- has been difficult, incomplete and slow, but it has been real. Outside our borders, however, the threat of failure looms. We face a rising tide of radicalization and rage in the Muslim world -- a trend to which our own actions have contributed. The enduring threat is not Osama bin Laden but young Muslims with no jobs and no hope, who are angry with their own governments and increasingly see the United States as an enemy of Islam.

They go on to recommend closing Guantanamo, finding a solution to Iraq (they stop short of directly saying the U.S. should get out, but it's implied), and taking strong steps to protect civil liberties.

Meanwhile Bruce Hoffman, a professor of securities studies at Georgetown, tells a compelling story of how al-Qaeda went from near extinction after the invasion of Afghanistan to becoming stronger than ever (hint: Iraq has distracted U.S. counterterror resources and given terrorist's their biggest recruiting tool ever).

Mooninites Come to Connecticut

Apparently Boston isn't the only New England city government staffed by imbeciles:

NEW HAVEN — A "white powder" scare caused by some unwitting runners shut down the Ikea store at Long Wharf for four hours Thursday during one of its busiest weeks of the year.

The incident also mobilized hazmat personnel from as far away as Milford and Wallingford after an Ikea customer saw a woman dressed in black scattering a white powder in several places around the store's exterior.

...

It turns out the white powder was believed to be flour, and the mysterious black-clad woman was one of four members of a local chapter of an international network of running clubs called the Hash House Harriers. The runners were detained when authorities saw people matching their description jogging by the store about two hours after the scare began, said police.

So the runners were playing one of those games you used to hear about in college, where someone leaves a trail of flour and others follow it until finally everyone ends up at a bar. Two of the runners -- one of whom is a medical doctor at Yale-New Haven Hospital -- have been charged with felonies.

I have to congratulate the New Haven Police Department for being on top of this. I sleep easy at night knowing that the NHPD is a competent, law-abiding force for goo-- oh, right.

CommunistHall.com

In response to Jacob Sullum's reasonable column on Townhall.com in opposition to the executive branch's unchecked, warrantless spying on U.S. citizens, the readers of Townhall.com show precisely why liberty-minded people should stop voting Republican. Conservatives would give up every last right in the Bill of Rights if it had even the slightest chance of leading to the arrest and/or death of a foreigner somewhere. Jacob has a good sampling of responses over at Hit & Run. Here are a few of my favs:

Every post you make shows your total ignorance of the situation at hand...we are under attack you friggin moron...b*llless Sallys' like you are the real reason these towelheaded embeciles think we are weak...grow a pair and get out and defend yourself before its too late. And as a side note, drooler, it will be people like me who will defend you and the other morons when the time comes so dont disparage us true Americans too much...have a nice day at the methedone clinic.
****
Pleeeeese! 9/11 changed our world forever. When I as a 67 year old grandmother must remove my shoes, and allow complete search of all my possessions and my body in order to fly in a plane, (this inside my own country!) it has all changed.At this point, since I have nothing to hide, I'd prefer everyone was treated with the same scrutiny. In that way, maybe, just maybe, they'll ferret out the scum intent on harming all of us. My phone calls have nothing to hide, and I fear not if anyone needs to listen in.
***
To the author: We are in a war. A war in which many of the enemy combatants reside overseas but have compatriots stationed here in America. They talk in order to plan to KILL US. Not chatting with their mommas, you boob. Do you not think that FDR and his administration listened in to phone calls during their prosecution of WWII? Of course they did. Did Lincoln's minions not read the mail of Southerners in the North? Yes, they did. In today's tech world, communications are instantaneous and the good guys (our guys, pal!)must have the ability to act and listen when the intel says so, not when some judge gets around to letting them. Wake up! This is a war, not some law class in some ivory tower. If we miss some crucial conversation, it could lead to the death of thousands of real actual people. Until this war is settled, your supposed 'privacy' be damned, sir.

With Americans like this who needs enemies. What's next? "FDR put American citizens in concentration camps, so why shouldn't we? If you have nothing to hide, why would you be against concentration camps?"

The AgiTRAITOR

Radley Balko's latest column on foxnews.com , which argues that Rep. Ron Paul is right that there is sometimes blowback from America's interventionist foreign policy, has apparently gotten him a few e-mails accusing him of treason. It's a good piece with compelling arguments. My only criticism is that it cites Cato reports and not CIA assessments or the 9/11 Commission Report, which also reached the same conclusions as Ron Paul. Why leave out the fact that America's intelligence community agrees with Paul? That's the most compelling proof that Rudy Giuliani - who takes money from terrorists countries and lobbies for their interests and who allowed New York's emergency command center to be housed in a known terrorist target - is full of crap. But hey, I don't get paid to express my views on Foxnews. And it's a good piece. Even though it doesn't mention that Paula Abdul broke her nose trying to avoid stepping on a Chihuahua. I want what she is on.

Mainstream Media Downplays Threat of Domestic Islamic Terrorism

You say tomato, I say some shit is going to be blown up. Unlike the Associated Press, I'm not comforted by a recent Pew Research Center poll that finds "most" American Muslims reject terrorism.

While nearly 80 percent of U.S. Muslims say suicide bombings of civilians to defend Islam can not be justified, 13 percent say they can be, at least rarely. That sentiment is strongest among those younger than 30. Two percent of them say it can often be justified, 13 percent say sometimes and 11 percent say rarely.

But hey, don't worry. The Associated Press notes that "only" 5 percent of U.S. Muslims expressed favorable views of the terrorist group al-Qaida.

It is noteworthy, however, that American Muslims largely blend into the rest of the country, according to the poll. Showing a broad willingness to adopt U.S. customs, and having income and education levels similar to other Americans. It's only when it comes to U.S. occupation of Muslim countries and the perceived U.S. war on Islam that a small (but significant) percentage believe that suicide bombings might sometimes be justified to defend Islam. It's also worth noting - and I'm taking a guess here - that a much larger percentage of non-Muslim Americans would likely tell pollsters that civilian deaths is a justified cost of America defending itself.

Senate Democrats Vote to Blow-Up Innocent Americans

OK, not literally; but essentially. I can't imagine a more treasonous act they could take then to side with Al Qaeda and other terrorists who have a stake in protecting incompetent and corrupt airport screeners from being fired. I hope Republicans stand their ground on this one. I don't want to die just so Clinton and Obama can get a little more union cash in their campaign coffers, which is all this is about - selling out our national security for personal gain. 45,000 Americans will be forced to support Democratic candidates through union dues, while thousands die when airlines are blown up.

The Senate voted Tuesday to give 45,000 airport screeners the same union rights as border patrol, customs and immigration agents, despite a veto threat from the White House.
[...]
The House passed a similar anti-terrorism bill with the same union provision for airport screeners in an indication of organized labor's strength with Democrats now running Congress.

Republicans vowed to strike the union provision when negotiators sit down to merge the House and Senate bills together to implement recommendations of the 9/11 commission previously rejected by Congress.
[...]
It's absolutely absurd," said Sen. Richard Burr R-N.C. "Terrorists don't go on strike. Terrorists don't call their union to negotiate before they attack."

Well said, Rep. Burr.

Full story here.

You Might be a Terrorist If...

UK police in Manchester are promoting a new "anti-terror drive", complete with a tip-line and a slogan, that I kid you not, reminds citizens that "You don’t have to be sure. If you suspect it, report it.”

How do you know to report someone as a terrorist? Besides the obvious tell-tale signs of a funny name with a lot of vowels coupled with wires and TNT strapped to their chest. Well for those tough-to-tell cases vigilant citizens have a handy questionnaire to help decide who gets reported to the authorities. Some of the questions included are:

* Do you know anyone who travels but is vague on where they're going?

* Do you know someone buying large or unusual quantities of chemicals for no obvious reason?

* Handling chemicals is dangerous, maybe you've seen goggles or masks dumped somewhere?

* Do you know someone who visits terrorist-related websites

Full article here

Justice Department: Everything Now Terrorism

A new report by the Justice Department's own inspector general finds (emphasis mine)

[n]early all of the terrorism-related statistics reported by the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI from the September 11 attacks until early 2005 had some inaccuracies...

[Ellipsis]

"We found many cases involving offenses such as immigration violations, marriage fraud, or drug trafficking where department officials provided no evidence to link the subject of the case to terrorist activity," the report said.

More here.

I'm sure kidde porn and forced tin mill divestiture are on the terrorism list somewhere, too.

UK Decap Plot Charges Unraveling

What possible reason could Muslims in the West have to distrust government?

A man arrested in Birmingham terror raids told how police grilled him over a drawing by his five-year-old daughter – but failed to mention an alleged kidnapping plot.

More here and here.

Our Long, National Mooninitemare

Dave Weigel, in Reason, nails the inanity of the Ignignokt and Err controversy spiraling out of Boston.

Not all public manias are acceptable. This one is. After a terror scare, the scared -- in this case Boston Mayor Thomas "Mumbles" Menino, some Bostonians, and the national media -- don't ask whether they overreacted. This is impossible; you can never overreact to terrorism. Those terrified mayoral statements to cameras are defensible, not uninformed. Those bright, red, clanging news alerts are informing the public, not exploiting viewers' basest fears. Does the hyping of bomb threats make urbanites more skittish and more likely to report a souped-up lite brite as a "suspicious device"? It doesn't matter. As Brian Doherty noted yesterday, panicked civilians calling to report those lite brites are considered a "perfect example" of "taking part in Homeland Security."

It's strange logic. The Bostonian who called in the phony threat is considered diligent, even though citizens in every other location where advertisers place the lite brites got the jokes.

It's worth noting that Menino took exactly this same overheated and especially incomprehsensible tone when Sony launched the PS3.

To 'Err' is Human, to Really Fuck Up is Bostonian

My sister, who works in Boston, emailed me this morning to let me know she was OK. Good, I said. Why wouldn't you be? Here's why.

A guerilla marketing campaign for a popular adult cartoon thrust Boston into pandemonium today as at least 10 bombs scares turned out to be battery-operated ads strategically place around the city, the Herald has learned.

Federal, state and local police swarmed around the city as reports poured in of suspicious devices, closing roads, tunnels and bridges for hours.

The chaos touched off a traffic nightmare and prompted a tense press conference from Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who assured residents the matter was under control. Fears of a possible terrorist act were quelled when it was determined the devices were part of an underground advertising campaign for the Cartoon Network TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

The device features a character called a mooninite.

Named Ignignokt. Who is a pretentious douche, not a terrorist. (His henchman Err, though, may be a terrorist.)

More here. Cartoon Network's ATHF site here.

I wonder what Senator-Elect Curt Schilling (R-Fenway) thinks about this?

If I wasn't sitting in class right now, I'd be laughing. Out loud. Uncontrollably.